Wish Upon a Journal
by belaying
Summary: The story of how William and Ronald impacted each others lives and fell in love. Part of the story, "The Shallow Grave of William T Spears".


"Ronnie please… I really need those files back before William sees them and you're the only one who can get into his office." Grell Sutcliff, Ronald's senior and co-worker, whined as he flipped his long red hair over his shoulder.

"Can't cha wait till tomorrow?" Ronald sighed, really hoping to be able to go home early today after being assigned overtime several times this past week.

Grell shook his head, "one more mistake and I am bound to end up on another expulsion of some sort. Come on, he's not there and it should be easy with your lock skills. You'll be in and out before you know it." He clapped his hands together in a begging manner, "oh please Ronald Darling~"

Ronald pursed his lips together and stared in thought before rolling his eyes and sighed, "fine, fine alright. I'll do it." Then he turned to walk down the hall, toward William's office as he heard Grell call out behind him, "thank you!" after him.

The young Shinigami had worked as a servant growing up with his Mom and younger sister. They often misplaced keys, lost them, etcetera so Ronald learned how to pick locks efficiently because of it. He pulled the knife from his pocket as he approached William's office. He made sure the coast was clear before kneeling and beginning to work at the lock. It took him under thirty seconds to open the door, slip inside quietly, close it and lock it. He took a deep breath of relieve before moving forward to look for that days paperwork filed by Grell.

The task, in theory, sounded easy but it turned out to be a lot harder than first anticipated. There were stalks of paperwork, neatly organized of course but to Ronald they were confusing. They had to make sense to someone that had such an orderly approach to life like William, but it baffled him. He ruffled his hair in frustration then. Before he attempted looking for the specific files again he thought he heard someone coming towards the office. He moved to hide under the desk as quickly and silently as he possibly could. With a soft yelp he bumped into what must have been a hidden drawer, it was partly open resulting in a black journal to fall at the blonds feet.

He stared at it; with careful and nervous movements he reached for the familiar looking item. As soon as he touched it everything he'd suppressed in the depths of his memory came rushing back to him.

Nearly three hundred fifty years ago, in sixteenth century England, a eleven old Ronald was given something as a human, well left something. It was something that would change his life as he knew it. The object was not significant in appearance; it was a journal with black leather binding, complete with a latch that locked. Ronald and his family, made up of his single mother and sister, were not wealthy by any means; in fact they were live-in servants to a lord and his family. The estate that that they all lived in was nestled in the English country side a mere thirty miles from the London city border. So this nice journal was not something his family could afford in their wildest dreams. He wanted to ask his mother about it but for some reason instincts told him to keep this journal as his secret.

The young boy stared curiously at the journal laid on his desk with the key on top in a manner that looked carefully executed, not rushed at all. After about a minute of hesitation he stepped forward and unlocked the journal, opening it to the first page to see it read:

_Mr. Knox,_

_Write down your wishes and lock them up tight._

_Think of them every morning and night._

_If these things you faithfully do._

_Your journal of wishes will all come true._

_There are some policies_

_That I you must see_

_You cannot wish for ones termination._

_Or for riches beyond ones comprehension._

_No one shall leave deaths grasp._

_Love must be found in order to last._

_My name shall never be told._

_My secrets never sold._

_Only one wish per a week._

_And they do not keep._

_Morals are the key._

_Make sure you wish wisely._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

Ronald blinked, was it for him? It had to be it had his name in it and it was in his room. Unsure if he believed it or not he moved to sit at his desk, grabbed his ink feather pen and wrote, "I wish fer…" and he stopped, what did he wish for, he never actually wished for much, wishes always seemed pointless, so he finished with, "anotha pair o' socks."

He stared at the page, expecting something to happen and debating his own mental sanity. Little did he know in another dimension, in an identical notebook those letters appeared on the page just how Ronald had wrote them. His thoughts were interrupted by his mother calling out, "Ronald, supper!" so he quickly stood, shut the journal, locked it and bounded down to the small kitchen to eat. After dinner he did some chores around the estate then got ready for bed and laid down.

He was drifting off to sleep when he remembered the second line of the poem, "_Think of them every morning and night_." Taking a deep breath the young blond closed his eyes and thought about having another pair of socks, he couldn't help but laugh some to himself. When morning came around he sighed and sat up, the journal lay in the light of the morning sun and he quickly closed his eyes and again thought about a nice new pair of socks.

"Well, alrigh'…." He mumbled to himself and stood, moving to his sock drawer he opened it and there, right on the top laid a brand new pair of wool socks. His jaw about hit the floor. Before he could make his brain function he was out of his room and walking down the hall, "Mum, Mum!" he called out, bursting into her room.

"Ronald what is it, something wro-?" His mother asked quickly.

He didn't even let her finish before interrupting with, "Did ya get me a new o' socks?"

She blinked confused and shook her head, "No… do you have a new pair? Maybe the House Seward noticed you needed a new pair…"

Ronald barely listened to her response before swiftly moving back to his room and opened the journal and there, right under his wish were the words:

_Mr. Knox,_

_I was hoping for something more interesting then socks._

_It was slightly foolish._

_Nevertheless I will grant you your wish._

_No more for seven days._

_Hopefully no one pays._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

He absorbed the words before rapidly wrote, "How?" staring at the page he tapped his foot impatiently, thinking to himself about just how insane he was, there had to be a reason for this, a logical one.

_Mr. Knox_

_I do not like repeating myself for no reason._

_The rules are clearly written._

_My secrets are not to be sold._

_Now you have been retold._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

Ronald swallowed as he read the words before slamming the books shut and locked it. He then shoved it into the top drawer, stood and changed for work.

A couple months passed and Ronald thought about the book but didn't use it. There was no reason to. Until one day even if he didn't want to use it, he needed to.

"Ronald!" His mother called out from his younger sisters room right next door to his causing the blond to get up from where he was and promptly walk into his sisters room.

He looked to his sister breathing heavily and a cold washcloth on her head, "She's burning up… you'll need to do her chores today. The doctor is coming later, around noon."

Ronald crossed the room, leaning down he kissed his sleeping sister on top of her head, "A'right Mum," and left, beginning both his sister and his own duties around the estate. When lunch came around he went to check on his sister, he went there in time to hear the doctor say, "I'm sorry…" and his mother begin crying.

He stood there in the doorway, frozen as the doctor walked out giving him a small sympathetic nod of his head. Swallowing Ronald developed the courage to walk forward and to his mother's side, "Wha's wrong wit 'er?"

She blew her nose in her handkerchief, "she has the Sweating Sickness, there is a more experienced doctor that can help her more then anyone else but we can't afford him. There is no clue as if she can overcome it or not without him, but the chances are low."

Ronald squeezed his mother's shoulders and looked to his sister one last time, seeing her sweet innocent face squeezed in pain was unbearable. He couldn't stand it. Leaving the room he went straight to his room, shutting the door and sat at his desk. Without hesitation he pulled out the wish journal, flipped to where the last words had appeared he wrote underneath it, "I wish fer the money ta afford the doctor that can make my sis 100% betta."

He looked to it for a minute before shutting it and putting it away. He left to continue his work, thinking of only the money to afford the doctor all the way to when he went to sleep till when he woke. Practically jumping from bed he looked to his desk to see a stack of money sitting there, his face lit up in a smile and he grabbed it and ran to the House Seward. It was then that the King's doctor came over as soon as he possibly could to tend to the little girl since his payment was taken care of. The doctor went straight to work doing everything he could to tend to the little girl.

"Don't tell Mum who paid him." He whispered to her after the doctor had finished tending to her. She nodded, smiling faintly at her older brother. By the end of the day her fever had disappeared and she was bouncing around like her old self. Seeing her smile and his mother laugh happily he realized the journal wasn't so bad. He retired to his room and opened it to see if anything was there.

_Mr. Knox_

_You're sister good as new._

_That wish perfect for you._

_Good job Knox._

_That was much improvement from the socks._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

Ronald frowned but couldn't help but chuckle, this seemed freaky still and the journal was a condescending asshole but it had helped his sister. Besides, to be frankly honest with himself, he did like the socks, it couldn't be as bad to use as he first thought.

Time passed and he continued to use the journal, wishing for things mainly his family needed, careful not to break any of the rules. However, from time to time he had interesting conversations with the journal, trying to delicately learn about and this mysterious "T." it but it was to no avail.

When Ronald was thirteen years old his family entered hard times once more, well not so much his but the family they worked for which meant his by default. The family they worked for had lost their favor with the king by going against his wishes. In response the king had taken hold of the beautiful estate for himself and had forced the Lord, his family and all their servants to live in a much smaller less luxurious estate. Some of the servants were let go due to the tight financial situation making the remaining servants work harder to make up for it.

Ronald's family had been kept around, however they now lived in one room together, which was a barely adequate living space. It was unbearable for any person to live there. Ronald wished for a better servant position to help make their lives better. The next week he had wished a bigger place to live. They seemed well enough off but with only one wish a week the wishes couldn't keep up with their needs. It wasn't long till his mother fell ill and when Ronald tried to wish for a cure no cure came, frantically he opened the journal to read.

_Mr. Knox,_

_I am sorry to inform you of this._

_You're dear mother is close to deaths kiss._

_Her illness is permanent._

_There is no way to end it._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

Ronald felt hot tears fill his eyes and make their way down his cheeks, slamming the book shut he threw it across the room. His sister looked to him as she pet her mother's hair. The journal was unfortunately right; by that night his mother fell asleep to never wake again.

Without their mother, his sister needed to forgo playtime and begin to work full time as well. Four years had passed, Ronald and his sister struggled but managed to survive and live relatively normal and peaceful lives for people of their social status. However, she soon ran into trouble once again when she ended up being kidnapped due to Ronald being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd been running errands late at night after one of his assigned duties and stumbled upon a murder, he managed to escape the scene and figured they hadn't seen him since no one came after him. A month had passed since then and she was kidnapped. They didn't even keep it a secret, the kidnap note was held onto the door with a pocketknife. He whipped out the wish journal to write down, "I wish to take my sister's place so that she may escape and live a happy life."

Desperately he searched for her, walking into the worse side of London that the city had to offer. Finding the hideout was easier then expected probably because no one was actually dumb enough to go there with the only protection being a beat up pocketknife, well besides Ronald.

They surrounded him within seconds, holding out various weapons and he dropped the knife and raised his hands in response but called out, "where is she?!"

His eyes widened as she was thrown into the circle of people, her clothes ripped, fresh bruises and cuts littered her body and fresh tears streamed down her face. He did wait to see what they'd do if he moved to her he just was at her side in the blink of an eye.

"She's a virgin, worth plenty of money in sex trade if ya don't keep quiet…" One of them began who Ronald assumed to be their leader. He was tall with greasy brown hair tied back tight in a pony, his clothes old an dirty and eyes Ronald swore flashed red but appeared now to be almost a silver-blue.

In a heartbeat Ronald said, "Take me and let 'er go."

The male raised his eyebrow and approached Ronald; "you'd give yourself to a life in sex trade to let her go free? What is stopping us from taking both of you?"

Ronald swallowed, "Nothin', I just wanna fair trade, her fer me."

He narrowed his eyes in thought, "well males are more rare, and a lot more money would come from you." He mused, smirking the whole time.

"Ye… yeh… so just let 'er go." Ronald stated as firmly as he could, licking his dry lips.

Ronald's sister squeezed her brother. "Don't brother…" she began to cry and Ronald looked to her leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Don't ya worry Sis, go ta the church, Aunt Marianne is there, she'll take ya in. I love you." Aunt Marianne was not their real aunt, but in reality she was a warm kind woman that had helped them out with meals and clothing from time to time. He kissed her cheek giving one last small smile before looking to the man again, all traces of happiness draining from his face.

The man couldn't help but begin to laugh, "fine, boys escort the young lady out and take this one to a holding cell."

The people around them closed in and grabbed the two, tearing them apart. "Sis when ya get a chance jus run, don't cha worry it'll be ok!" Ronald yelled out as he tried to fight the males desperately, hoping there was a slim chance he could escape as well. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side, he couldn't escape his path to death after all… a metal bar came down on his head and the world went dark as he fell unconscious.

Ronald trembled as he read the last words on the page he'd never seen till now,

_Mr. Knox_

_You're act was selfless._

_This journal now will be useless._

_For your idiotic courage you've achieved a great honor._

_No need to be afraid any longer._

_Sincerely,_

_T._

He didn't even feel the tears that were streaming down his cheeks, landing on the journal. He was snapped out of his shocked state as the door opened, dropping the journal he stood up, and his eyes locked with William's. He had no idea what to say, he formed the words, 'Grell wanted some paperwork' but instead, like word vomit he blurted, "It was you."

William glanced down at the journal and back to Ronald calmly, "Yes it was."

Ronald nodded some and moved to wipe his face, noticing the tears for the first time, "why?" He managed to whisper, not even caring he'd technically broken into the office at this point. He just wanted answers so he repeated, "why?" louder.

"I met you once, long ago when you were human walking around the estate. You were small then around the age of ten, do you remember?" William explained cautiously, determined not to upset the young blond further.

Ronald, still wiping his face and blinked as the memory surfaced from the recesses of his mind.

When he was ten years old still learning the intricacies of being a servant in a large estate, he was rushing around the manor accomplishing random simple tasks for the other servants. It was when he was rushing around the manor, with a tray of polished silver eating ware when he came across a tall young man in his upper teens. The first thing he noticed was how tall he was, the pale skin and the silk neat onyx hair. Not to mention the intricate beautiful clothes, he had to be a member of the upper class. He stood still curiously observing the man, it was upon observation he noticed that this man wasn't happy, he had an intent stiff frown upon his features.

"Sir? May I ask why are ya so sad?"

The man looked up towards the boy with his steely blue eyes. "Sad…? I suppose… It is mainly frustration with family politics." He paused clearly figuring he should simplify it, "it's family problems… complex family problems."

Ronald walked over with his head tilted to one side, " 'ave you tried talking it ova with them? When I 'ave family problems I talk it ova with them tellin' em how I feel and that always makes it betta between us." He smiled brightly at him.

The man paused at this, "I wish it was that simple, it is not like that in my family. My father prefers if we blindly follow his wishes without question even if it is clearly not for my and my brother's best interests…"

"It still couldn' 'urt jus to talk ta him about yer feelin's and wha not. If ya be 'onest with 'im then things can start gettin' betta in yer family," Ronald continued to smile.

"Mm… I suppose it is time for me to quit my passive-aggressive silence with him… thank you for giving me an ear…" He observed the boy, "what's your name young one?"

"Ronald Knox," He said proudly.

"Well Ronald Knox, whenever you need an ear, feel free to come to me. In the meantime you have quite a few smudges on that silver still, allow me to help you."

"That was you…" he said slowly, faintly remembering the male.

"It was." William established and nodded his head some, "It wasn't till after I died and I was able to reflect on my life that I came to realize how much you affected it."

"How'd I influence yer life?" Ronald asked confused, "I wasn't much of anythin'."

"As you are clearly aware of now, I am not able or willing to express my feelings openly and this is the case for back then. Whether you are aware of it or not, I was in extreme emotional strife at the time but as I tried to sort out my problems and make sense of it all here you came with your innocence smiling at me. You were truly a light in a foggy time for me. Not to mention you were the first person to be genuinely concerned for me in a long time back then. I never realized how much I needed that until after I was dead… One of the first things I remembered after I became a Shinigami was your smile. That is why I gave you the wish journal, to make your life better, I never wanted that smile to disappear… However, I didn't expect it to be your downfall as well but I have always considered it a happy turn of events since it united us. When you made a wish, it was copied into my journal and I would simply grant it though various forms then reply to you. Simply put, not only was the journal a way for me to practice poetry but to stay in contact with the person I love." William explained and cleared his throat to the side in embarrassment blushing softly all the while.

It seemed all Ronald got from that was when he said, 'love' and he immediately asked, "Ya love me? Despite knowin' how I died…" and he swallowed, fighting back more tears.

William just nodded and looked to him again and the blond smiled through his tears, unable to help it, "I, Ronald Knox, was able ta melt that ice heart everyone, well mostly Grell whines about?" he teased in disbelief.

The older male frowned some and the blond approached him, tapping his chest lightly, "Well, ya might have ta make me fall for ya."

"Might?" William questioned and Ronald didn't answer, he just kissed him, his arms wrapping around William's shoulders and pulling them closer together. Taken by surprise William closed his eyes slowly and he placed his hand gingerly on Ronald's waist, making the next move, he licked Ronald's lips which the blond opened his mouth without hesitation.

The two kept up the passionate kiss for awhile till both broke to breathe and Ronald panted, "Ye… yeh"


End file.
